Tag-Archiv für 'argentina'

Lots has been happening in the wild world of Argentine futbol hooliganism in the past few months, but there has been no time to share. Here is a quick and insufficient roundup for the purpose of getting it out of the way. Not enough time lately to cover everything, and the issue is unlikely to get better in the next few weeks so „it is what it is.“

*Pulling out the Guns at All Boys vs Estudiantes
At the latest All Boys vs Estudiantes match, the Estudiantes hooligans apparently took a wrong turn getting to All Boys stadium, and promptly found themselves in the vicinity of the hooligans of All Boys. A sign of the times in the Argentine futbol violence world, the Estudiantes hools pulled out the guns:
But dont worry, there were neither injuries nor arrests!

These are also, by the way, the same people who last week spent 15 minutes during Independiente – Estudiantes beating the crap out of each other in their own terrace.

*Newells Old Boys and Rosario Central are the two first division teams from the city of Rosario, and represent one of Argentinas fiercest, most intense, and most violence prone futbol rivalries. It is within this context that the gravity of the images below needs to be understood. How exactly it happened is still a matter of much discussion, rumors, and disagreement. Some say that the Rosario Central hooligans conducted good intelligence, and so were able to find out the location of NOBs banners and flags. The other version is that a faction of NOB hooligans sold the information to RC hooligans in order to discredit their enemy faction. Whatever the case may be, the most representative NOB flags and banners are now in the possession of their arch rivals, and serious trouble is expected to be ahead in Rosario. At the most recent NOB game the club even went as far as to forbid almost 100 of its own members from entering the stadium, in order to avoid clashes between the rival hooligans groups of NOB.
This picture is of Newells banners in the hands of Rosario Central hooligans:

A video:

Security camera footage of the theft:

*El Porvenir Hooligans Interrupt Funeral Procession to Attack own Players
Yes, just like it sounds. The funeral procession for an El Porvenir hooligan (El Porvenir is a small second division club in the south of the province of Buenos Aires) who had passed away was passing in front of the El Porvenir training grounds. Seeing that the players, with who the hooligans dont have the best of relationships, were at practice, the hooligans entered the grounds to „ask“ them to accompany them. The players refused, upon which the hooligans proceeded to threaten them, hit them, steal their belongings, and continue along their way.

*Quilmes Players Attacked by Fans
Quilmes, a team recently arrived in first division, has been having a very poor season. In a show of their „displeasure“ at the teams performance, Quilmes hooligans smashed a players car, and then chased the players bus on motorcycles, finally cutting them off and attacking them with stones. The bus then proceeded directly to the police station, followed still by the hooligans who insulted them and threatened them with death for „ratting them out to the cops.“ As a result of this, Quilmess following home game was played to closed doors. Collective punishment…
*Velez vs San Lorenzo
Incidents during San Lorenzo vs Velez, in San Lorenzo. The Velez fans displayed a provocative banner, making reference to San Lorenzo never having won a Copa Libertadores (basically the south American Champions League). The response from San Lorenzo fans was (mild) incidents inside the stadium, but apparently the worst happened outside, where many a Velez fans tells of being surrounded, not being able to reach their busses, and being hunted across half the neighborhood.

The fools from Velez who refer to themselves as „La Pandilla“ I have a particular dislike for. The name alone should already be embarassment enough, as in English the translation would be something along the lines of „The Rascals.“ But these people seem to go out of their way to cause themselves extra embarassment. At their latest visit to Racing, they almost lost a couple of banners, then seriously overestimated themselves challenging Racing fans, where saved from a very unpleasant evening by the police, and then stood quietly until the rest of the game, probably in silent prayer for a safe return home. A video, mainly of the game, but thats OK because it was a great one. Racing was again doing terribly in the season and the relationship between fans and players was more than bad. The trouble began with Velez leading 1-0, and after the break because of the incidents on the terrace Racing turned it around and won 3-1. It is not crazy to think that the players got the message that there was a lot of frustration and violence in the air. A bit of the incidents can be seen starting at 1:50, but aside from that there is goals, rain, drama, injuries, red cards, you name it…

*San Lorenzo – Huracan: The bannerless derby!
Because Huracan has stolen more banners from San Lorenzo the last few years than they could possibly ever know what to do with, and when they exhibit them during the derby matches the San Lorenzo fans go crazy and the games often end in violent clashes, the Argentine Football Association had for the latest derby a brilliant idea, and yet another great step in the collective punishment of football fans: All flags and banners were forbidden for this match!
And still, where theres a will theres a way:

That covers most of the high/low lights of recent times. Whats with Atlanta and Racing you ask? Exciting news of a magnitude meriting an own post…

As an anarchist, the deaths of politicians were usually something I met with something between indifference and joy. Maybe it is the distance to the events, or maybe my Latin American sozialization has created an unconscious sympathy towards the „caudillo“ figure, present emotionally although rejected rationally. Or maybe, even more irrationaly, the reason is his fanaticism for Racing Club. Whatever the cause may be, I cant help but feel that the death of Nestor Kirchner is a negative and unfortunate event.

I know full well that the project of „Kirchnerismo“ has very little to do with that of a liberated society, free from capitalism, classes, and state. I know that their politics are often little more than lip service to left-wing ideas, at best a left leaning populism. I know that if I was in Argentina, and when I was in Argentina, my place was never among the supporters of the ruling party, but with the radical left who didnt stop fighting for a better alternative.

And yet, how could one not smile when Kirchner and his government spoke of „redistribution of the wealth,“ and basically declared war on the farmland oligarchy? How could we not be pleased when they pushed forward with the prosecutions and trials of the Generals responsible for the dirty war of the 1970s against the Argentine left? Who didnt feel happy when the picture of Videla was taken down from the walls of the ESMA, and the building handed over to the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo? When the media monopoly of Clarin was challenged, for whatever reasons, and a law was passed to democratize mass communication in Argentina, was that not a positive step? Taking football from private interests, and showing it free of charge on television as „football for all,“ may be bread and circus, but is there anything to criticize in it? The legalization of same-sex marriage, the universal monthly benefit for Argentine children, and the list goes on and on. It is these politics which have enraged the old, the priviliged, and the reactionary in Argentina, and brought a generation who not 10 years ago was chanting „que se vayan todos“ out in the thousands to proclaim their will that Cristina Kirchner continue the „proyecto nacional y popular.“

The Argentina of Kirchnerismo is still an Argentina of capitalism, inequality, and poverty. But the fact remains that the better alternative is not what will follow in the absence of Nestor Kirchner. Just as I am certain that the Argentina of 2010 is a much better place to live in than the Argentina of 2001, I am certain that the reactionary, nostalgic, coup sympathizing opposition would offer nothing better.

Against the status quo of Kirchnerismo and for social revolution, definitely. But in defense of Kirchnerismo against those who want to turn the clock back in Argentina…as well.

Yesterday we added the first German language books to the Fire and Flames page. We do not intend to start listing masses of books in German, as there are not only more than enough good online shops for such things, but also because if you live in or near a city with an infoshop or alternative bookstore, you should go there and support them. What we will be adding are books that we find particularly good, or relating to subjects of particular interest to us, and such.

The remaining three titles are our, momentarily, favorites from Laika Verlags „Bibliothek des Widerstands.“ „Book“ is here not necessarily the right term, as they are „mediabooks,“ meaning they are all a book plus a DVD….

A young activist, student, and member of the Partido Obrero (Workers Party, Trotskyist), 23 year Mariano Ferreyra, was shot and killed yesterday in Buenos Aires.

He was the shot while supporting, together with other left-wing activists, fired workers who had been subcontracted by a company to work for one of the Buenos Aires railroad companies. He was the fatal victim of an attack by members of the „Union Ferroviaria“ („Railroad Union,“ mainstream railroad workers union) against the protesting workers who were demanding their re-incorporation and permanent contracts and their supporters. One further victim of the armed ambush remains in critical condition, having been shot in the head while a third shooting victim was shot twice, but is not critically injured.

In order to carry out their attack, the „Union Ferroviaria“ mob, a shining representation of the corruption and manipulation rampant in mainstream Argentine syndicalism, enjoyed a „liberated zone“ granted to them by the police, who while the armed gang threw stones at the demonstrators, joined in by shooting rubber bullets at them. To what extent which arms of the ruling elites have an intellectual responsability in this crime is still unclear, but the impunity with which the „Union Ferroviaria“ mob moved can only lead suspicion to government involvement.

In response to this murder, one more in a long line of killings of social activists since „democracy“ returned to Argentina, a nationwide day of strikes and protests has been called for today. Schools were closed, most forms of public transportation were either completely or partially stopped, and road blockades have been erected all over Buenos Aires. As this is being written, tens of thousands of demonstrators are converging on Plaza de Mayo.

In an ironically sad twist of fate, the last time a social activist was so brazenly murdered by the State or its rented thugs of the moment, when Kosteki and Santillan were murdered in Avellaneda by cops during a repression against a bridge blockade, Mariano Ferreyra, then aged only 14, was also present, taking his first steps in activism and accompanying his older brother. Those who knew him say that the incident deeply marked his political activism.

Rarely does the mainstream press write something so positive about a left-wing activist. Sadly there is not the time to translate it, but nonetheless it is here reproduced in full in Spanish, from Clarin:

If you have been following the plot since this blog was started, you will already know that hockey, of both the ice and inline variety, is a very important part of my personal life. It is also while playing hockey that I destroyed my ankle, and one of the main motivations in proving the Doctors wrong when they told me „youll never play sports again, and hockey you can DEFINITELY forget about,“ was to return to competitive hockey in Argentina (which by the way I did successfully only 9 months after the injury, playing last season in the Buenos Aires „A“ division).(Hockey is also an important factor in my relationship of hatred towards the city of Göttingen. No ice hockey, no competitive inline hockey, and as of a few weeks ago not even the opportunity of playing in the „sporthalle“ where we used to play. It was bad enough, as it is to a great extent to blame for my injury, but it was still better than nothing)

As far as inline is concerned, Buenos Aires has a relatively competitive league, composed of Argentines who learned the sport while living abroad (my case with Boston, USA), foreigners living in Buenos Aires, and over the last few years kids who are now in their prime playing age (17-25) who have always lived in Argentina, but since the league was started in the mid 90s, have been playing all their lives. There is a regulation inline hockey rink, league with first division, second division, womens division, and junior leagues, and inline hockey is now even played at two „traditional“ football clubs, namely Huracan which has a team and participates in the leagues second division, and Atlanta where it is played but who sadly does not yet have a team. Furthermore, there is a league in Mendoza and teams in Cordoba, Rosario, and Ushuaia . Aside from that, two national teams which compete in the inline hockey World Championships, and a yearly „National“ tournament with teams from across Argentina, as well as Brazil and Colombia. All in all, inline hockey has been growing more or less constantly in Argentina for over a decade.

Ice hockey has unfortunately presented a much less positive picture. Despite the best efforts of some very committed people, the main problem is simply that the ice rinks in Buenos Aires are all significantly too small for playing ice hockey. So, although there is a small league, the games are 3 vs 3 and the rink is basically the size of a large familys living room. This made the sport for many people rather unattractive, and led to people concentrating exclusively on inline hockey.

As you can see in the pictures, Argentina now has an *olympic sized* ice hockey rink…built by the city of Ushuaia (the most Southernmost city in the world, btw). Ushuaia is of course sadly quite far from Buenos Aires (4 hours by airplane), but this still means that locals can now play properly for several months per year, and attractive tournaments can be organized, such as the „Copa Fin del Mundo“ (End of the World Cup) which was held a few weeks ago. Also exciting, though still a long way away (and for my life sadly some 15 years too late), Argentina now meets the requirements to present a team for Division 3 of the ice hockey world championships and play against such powerhouses as North Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, Mongolia, and Israel!

The rink in all its quiet glory…
Players from Buenos Airess inline hockey league in Ushuaia…

The kids playing in Atlanta, Villa Crespo…

An Huracan game at the inline hockey rink in Buenos Aires…
Hockey „rink“ in Göttingen. Bad enough, scene of my horrendous accident, and now even this place is off limits for us…